Man charged with murder of Labour MP Jo Cox

A man has been charged with murder in connection with the shooting of Labour MP Jo Cox.

Cox, 41, was attacked in the street outside her constituency surgery in Birstall, near Leeds, at lunchtime on Thursday.

West Yorkshire Police said Thomas Mair, of Birstall, has been charged with murder, grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of an offensive weapon.

The 52-year-old will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

Tributes were laid in Parliament Square (John Stillwell/PA)

West Yorkshire Police Temporary Chief Constable Dee Collins said on Friday that a 77-year-old man remains in a stable condition in hospital after he was injured when he "bravely intervened" in an effort to help Cox.

Vigils were held across the UK on Friday evening as members of the public and politicians came together to lay flowers, light candles and stand in silence in memory of Cox.

The vigils followed a joint visit to her home town by David Cameron and Jeremy Corbyn, where the Prime Minister issued a plea for tolerance in British politics.

The Prime Minister said the whole nation was "rightly shocked" at Cox's death, and called for people to "value, and see as precious, the democracy we have on these islands". Politics is about public service and MPs want to "make the world a better place", he said.

Labour leader Corbyn described Cox was "an exceptional, wonderful, very talented woman, taken from us in her early 40s when she had so much to give and so much of her life ahead of her".

Parliament is to be recalled on Monday to allow MPs to pay tribute to Cox.